Contrasting Thanksgiving Traditions: Stores Are Open or Closed -- or Both

Santa Monica shoppers will find contrasting Thanksgiving traditions along one of the city's major shopping strips, from the Third Street Promenade south through Santa Monica Place and across Colorado Avenue to Sears.

Despite the bad economy and the option to shop via the Internet, Third Street Promenade merchants predict crowds of traditional in-person customers on Thanksgiving Day as well as on Black Friday.

``Retail stores have been open on Thanksgiving for years,'' said Kathleen Rawson, CEO of Downtown Santa Monica Inc., ``although (smaller) independent retailers are sometimes the exception.''

So, on the Promenade, some shops will be open on Thanksgiving, some won't. As for Black Friday, Rawson says shoppers won't have to spring from their beds in the middle of the night to take advantage of the low prices.

``We're too laid back for that,'' she laughed, contrasting the Promenade to big-box stores that open in the dark of night. ``We like to have our coffee first!''

If some stores are open on Thanksgiving, why is Black Friday still such a big deal?

``It's a cultural event, a social event, as much as anything else,'' Rawson believes, particularly in areas like the Promenade, which echoes the  traditional American Main Street with its blend of movie theaters, retailers and restaurants. Mix in two other contrasting attractions -- the beach and the open-air ice skating rink at 5th and Arizona, and you've got Instant Christmas Season.

``Our downtown streets will be very busy both days -- unless rain creates a dampening effect,'' Rawson predicted, with pun apparently intended.

The Gap on the Promenade will be open on Thanksgiving. ``And we'll offer doorbuster bargains on Black Friday,'' said the manager, Steven (he declined to give his surname). Doors open at the relatively sane hour of 6 a.m., with doorbuster deals until noon.

By contrast, the stores in Santa Monica Place, along with Sears, will observe a much older Thanksgiving Day tradition: they'll be closed.

On Black Friday, Santa Monica Place stores such as Bloomingdale's and Nordstrom will open early at 8 a.m., while Sears will go with the pre-sunrise trend, opening at 4 a.m. The store offers more than 500 doorbuster items through 1 p.m.

``When I first started with Sears twenty-nine years ago, 6 a.m. was early,'' said Tom Kennedy, store general manager. The big-box phenomenom changed that. ``Over the years, whether it was Wal-Mart, Target or J.C. Penney, six (a.m.) went to five, then it became four.''

Kennedy acknowledges that some people like to shop on Thanksgiving Day, but he prefers Sears' policy of giving the staff the day off for family time.

Sears' downtown Santa Monica location lets the store avoid competing head-to-head with any big-box store because there are none in the city, although some are nearby. That competition is what prompted Sears to move its Black Friday opening from 6 a.m. to 4 a.m., Kennedy said, while some big-box stores will start their Black Friday sales as early at 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.

``It might not be the best crowd at ten o'clock at night on Thanksgiving Day,'' Kennedy chuckled. ``Maybe they drank too much. I wouldn't want to work at a Wal-Mart at ten o'clock at night on Thanksgiving.''